Spotlight Alums in 2017

Sultan Sharrief and his Street Cred Detroit Youth Crew recently claimed one of the 29 Knights Art Challenge Awards from the Knight Foundation for their work "When It All Changed, A Virtual Reality High School Tour." Sharrief's project is a follow-up to the TV show Street Cred he and his crew created for PBS and is meant to spark conversations about empathy and race.

When It All Changed is an interactive 360 Video performance piece that will be used to inspire positive dialog about social change. In the year 2072 two sisters, Nia and Eve, can't get enough people to "unplug" from technology to join their compassion movement. So they find a way to send a memory back to the past that they hope will inspire people to start the compassion movement sooner. The film puts you in the body of a 16-year-old Black girl in Detroit as she tries an ambitious project to bring several sparring groups in her neighborhood together. It's Eve's memory of the day when it all changed for her future.

#Girlgaze is a digital media company, based in Los Angeles, that promotes and highlights the work of female Gen Z photographers and directors. Their mission is to close the gender gap by creating visibility and tangible jobs for girls behind the lens. Shinola (Detroit) has recently partnered with Girlgaze to highlight five Girls With Purpose who use art and creativity to promote social change. Sophia Kruz, Director of Little Stones, and Founder of the non-profit Driftseed, is a part of this campaign.

Supriya Kelkar (FTVM '02) Hosts Two Local Book Signings for Her New Book, AHIMSA

Supriya Kelkar hosted two book signings for her new book, Ahimsa (Tu Books, 10/2/17), a middle-grade novel that takes place in British-ruled India in 1942. After Mahatma Gandhi asks each family to give one member to the non-violent freedom movement, 10-year-old Anjali is devastated to think of her father risking his life and joining. But it turns out he isn't the one going. Her mother is. As the family gets more and more involved in the resistance, Anjali is forced to confront her privilege and her prejudices to ensure their little part in the movement gets complete. (School Library Journal Starred Review; ALA Booklist Starred Review).

Anna Garcia's (FTVM '17) Film to Screen at Three Upcoming Festivals This Month

Garcia's film Anna Garcia Does a One Woman Play, a work made possible through M-agination Film and an incredible team of FTVM students and alumni, is screening in three upcoming festivals, two of which are local: The Royal Starr Film Festival (Royal Oak, MI; Oct. 12-14, 2017); The Grand Rapids Feminist Film Festival (Grand Rapids, MI; Oct. 21, 2017), and the Orlando Film Festival (October 19-26, 2017). Watch the trailer here - and come out and support Anna if you can!

About the film: The highly intense, overbearing and imaginative Anna Garcia arranges to do a one woman play, and to have a documentary made about herself doing the play. There’s just one problem: she doesn’t have a script or any idea what her play will be about. Watch as Anna desperately scrambles around Ann Arbor, trying to get other people to write her play as she pieces together her “chef d’ouevre.”

Ryan McDonough (FTVM '16) Wins Best Director Award for GROOVE

Ryan McDonough won the Best Director Award from the Long Island International Film Expo for his film Groove, which chronicles New York City subway musicians and the unique lives they lead. Upon the film's debut this July, Ben Strack, of the LI Herald, interviewed Ryan about his work. McDonough claims, “I was inspired by the kind of indie film makers…who have the attitude of, ‘Don’t wait for someone to let you do something. Just go make it happen.'" To read the full article about Ryan's journey in making Groove, please click here; to listen to his interview at the LIIFE Film Expo, please click here.

photo courtesy of R. McDonough (Sydney Shepard in Groove)

Matthew Kane (FTVM '12) Writes STITCHERS Episode

Matthew Kane wrote season 3, episode 7 ("Just the Two of Us") of Freeform's Sci-Fi series Stitchers. Written by Kane and Jeffrey Alan Schechter, the episode first aired on July 24, 2017. Read more about the series and access Kane's episode here.

Noah Stahl (FTVM '11) Produces First Film

Noah Stahl's first movie as a producer, Patti Cakes, screened at the Michigan Theater on August 30 and 31, 2017. An underdog movie about a young woman from Jersey with big dreams of making it as a rapper, The New York Times claimed it was "impossible not to root for" and described the lead Danielle Macdonald as "simply a revelation." Watch the trailer here.

Zack Arnold (FTVM '02) Shares Knowledge on Networking

Zack Arnold, now an in-demand editor in the world of scripted TV, with credits for cutting shows like Burn Notice, Empire, Glee, and Shooter, was recently featured in Robert Hardy's article “Empire” Editor Has 7 Steps to Network Successfully in Hollywood" (Frame.io Blog, August 14, 2017). In the article, Arnold shares his experiences and gives advice about how to network and build relationships with people in the business. "If you want to succeed in the film industry," he claims, "You need to keep showing up, keep doing incredible work, and keep building authentic relationships with the people who matter." To read the entire article and view Zack's 7 steps to success, please click here.

Black Trust Fund Baby vs. Remote Therapy (Dir. Josh Gibert, 5 mins) A bratty college drop-out distracts himself from his woes with technology, but an encounter with his step-sister triggers a supernatural revelation.

Josh Gibert is a 24-year-old, local actor/director and University of Michigan alum. In 2015, he was chosen to participate in the prestigious Sundance Institute’s Screenwriter’s Intensive: Detroit. Josh is currently producing and starring in his own web series, is developing a Detroit-set pilot, and is working to bring challenging narratives and compelling characters to the screen.

The Detroit Voices Competition program will take place on the closing night of the Cinetopia Festival, Sunday, June 11, at 7:30 PM at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. A closing night party will follow.

2014 R. Stern; 2017 Task Force – Small town American deals with the opioid crisis.

Ted Houser is a filmmaker and Co-Director of the Detroit Film Society. His films have played at film festivals locally and nationally, including the Cinetopia Film Festival and Virginia Film Festival. After studying Film at the University of Michigan he relocated to Los Angeles, working in the mainstream Entertainment Industry. After moving back to Detroit, Ted has worked with local organizations like DAFT (Digital Arts Film & Television) to help student filmmakers tell their stories.

The Detroit Voices Retrospective will take place in Ann Arbor on Sunday, June 4 at 3:15 PM. These alumni will appear in person to share their latest work and reflections on life since taking part in Detroit Voices.

Colin Rich Edits Film to Premiere on ABC

Colin Rich (FTVM '09) was the Editor on John Ridley's "Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992." The film was released on Friday, April 21, 2017, in theaters -- a week before its television premiere on ABC on April 28. Pegged to the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles uprising, the feature documentary takes a unique and in-depth look at the years and events leading up to the city-wide violence that began April 29, 1992, when the verdict was announced in the Rodney King case. To read more about the film, please click here.

Sophia Kruz Gives UMTedx Talk about Her Documentary, LITTLE STONES

In February of 2017, Driftseed co-founder Sophia Kruz(FTVM '11) gave a TEDxUofM talk entitled The Combat of Women Cultureto a sold-out audience on her new documentary Little Stones, and the power of art and culture to empower women and girls around the world. Watch her video here.

Spotlight Alums in 2016

Andrew Day Interviewed on CTN

Filmmaker and FTVM Alum Andrew Day(FTVM '16) was featured on CTN's "Let's Watch the Ann Arbor Film Festival" (host, Dana Denha) on November 16, 2016. The show includes Day's discussion of his time and experience with the Festival, a showing of his film "The Human Body, Our Friend," and ends a discussion of his work.

Sophia Kruz Hosts Test Screening at Michigan Theater

Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and former PBS producer Sophia Kruz(FTVM '11) along with cinematographer Meena Singh, hosted a test-screening of their 90-minute documentary Little Stones, at the Michigan Theater on October 5, 2016. The film explores the role of art in the global empowerment of women and girls. From a graffiti artist in the favelas of Brazil raising awareness about domestic violence, to a choreographer in India using dance to rehabilitate victims of sex trafficking, Little Stones profiles four artists who have found innovative ways to use their art to tackle the most pressing issues facing the women in their communities.

Hena Ashraf Attends UCLA and Wins Scholarship

Hena Ashraf (FTVM '08) entered UCLA's MFA in Film Directing program in September 2016. After graduating from UM, Ashraf moved to New York where she worked for various media institutions such as Black Public Media and the Tribeca Film Institute, amongst others. Her films, such as Small Delights (Best Emerging Filmmaker, Queens World Film Festival) feature characters whose multiple identities characterize them as outsiders and who thus struggle to fit in. These themes have been developed from her own personal experiences as a young Muslim woman growing up in the U.K. and America. Ashraf is also the 2016 recipient of The Farah Tahir Scholarship from the Islamic Scholarship Fund. Congratulations, Hena!

2013 Alums' Film Opens Shorts Program at Rooftop Festival in NYC

2013 FTVM Alums Roddy Hyduk, Josh Buoy, and Meredith Finch -- of the Ann Arbor production company Snowday -- have created a film selected to open the shorts program at the Rooftop Film Festival in NYC (2016).Stations-- shot over the course of 10 days at 120 stations in all five boroughs, blends scripted scenes and pure documentary to offer a captivating glimpse of New York life. P.Claire Dodson of The Atlantic says of Hyduk, "Roddy [...] has always been fascinated by the subway." Hyduk confirms, "There are so many layers of information to be absorbed within the context of each individual station [...] Imagining what's happening simultaneously across the entire system sparked my initial curiosity." Hyduk's end goal is that "through the sum of all of the stations represented, the unique texture of New York might reveal itself in a new and compelling way" (qtd. in Dodson, The Atlantic)

Stations was directed by Hyduk and produced by Josh Buoy, Meredith Finch, and Chelsea Hyduk.

Paul Sutherland Directs Unique Promo for Livonia Public Library

Paul Sutherland ('08) directed a promotional video for the Livonia Public Library, promoting their summer reading program in an unconventionallly engaging way. The video features Phoenix Freerunning Academy ... and some very limber librarians.

Joe Reed Co-Produces Viral Video on Women in Sports Broadcasting

The viral video "#MoreThanMean - Women in Sports Face Harassment" was co-produced by FTVM alumnus Joe Reed ('12). The video features real men reading real comments made about sports reporters Sarah Spain and Julie DiCaro – to their faces -- in an attempt to increase awareness about harassment of women in sports broadcasting.

Jacqueline Wood Recognized in Cincinnati's CITYBEAT

Cincinnati's Citybeat recognized FTVM Alumna Jacqueline Wood ('06) in their 2016 Arts & Nightlife Staff Picks Feature as "Best Attempt to Use Corporate Foundation Money to Pay Avant-Garde Filmmakers." With her $15,000 from People’s Liberty, filmmaker C. Jacqueline Wood’s ambitious Mini Microcinema project paid more than 140 artists working in experimental film, film installation and poster art. Wood programmed the Globe Gallery in Over-the-Rhine with 28 screenings over eight weeks and (with the help of arts volunteers committed to her cause) spent every last penny of said grant, paying each filmmaker, artist, curator and otherwise for their time and work. The Microcinema will be back in action at The Carnegie in Kentucky in 2016, with screenings through April 22.

Sultan Sharrief's (FTVM '06 and Visiting FTVM Production Faculty '11-'14) YouTube showWhat's Really Going On? premiered with a two-part episode entitled, "What if Deadpool was Black? (How Chunky Monkey Can Explain Why the Oscars Are So White)." In the episode, Sharrief addresses the underlying complexity of the "Oscars So White" issue, citing seven reasons that he believes to have collectively contributed to the lack of diversity in Hollywood. In future episodes, Sharrief plans to continue to explore the lack of diversity in the industry, beginning with his process of developing his new reality TV show, STREET CRED, a show that challenges inner city youth to apply their street smarts and inherent grit to compete for a chance at a dream film internship.

Spotlight Alums in 2015

Will O'Donnell Receives Honorable Title

FTVM's Will O'Donnell ('15) claimed the title "Young Alumnus of the Month" (January, 2016) and was featured on the UM Alumni Association's website. In an interview with Alexander Bernard, O'Donnell reveals the details about his post-graduation adventures. After backpacking in Europe for two months, he moved to New York in hopes of becoming a Production Assistant. Recently, O'Donnell has worked on two Woody Allen films, Showtime's new series "Billions," and Hulu's new comedy "Difficult People." He states, "[W]hile the hours are unhealthy 90 percent of the time (14 hours is a standard day), I really do love what I do and consider myself lucky to be a part of so many great productions." When asked where he is going after his work on "Difficult People" ends, O'Donnell responds, "[...] Sometimes part of being a production assistant is that you don't know what your next gig is until your current one ends. Sometimes you don't even know where you'll be working on Friday. You just have to do your best work, maintain all of your connections, and figure it out. It keeps me on my toes."

Spotlight Snapshots Through the Years

Tricia Williams ('15) placed second in the first round of a stand up comedy competition at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank. She qualified to compete in the second round, which was held on February 24th, 2016 at 8 pm. Pictured - Tricia front and center, with the many other FTVM alums and friends who turned out to support her.

THE PICKLE RECIPE premiered at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February of 2016. FTVM alumni on the project: Director of Photography Geoffrey George (pictured), Josh Ficken (key grip), Chris Miller (grip), and Eddie Rubin (producer).

FTVM Alum Shrihari Sathe ('05) recently produced the film A Woman, A Part, a film about an exhausted, workaholic actress, Anna Baskin, who abruptly extricates herself from a successful but mind-numbing TV role, returning to her past life in New York to reinvent herself.